vegoftheweek

Inside The Oven: Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and…FRIED OCTOPUS BALLS??!! in Week Links. Porcini mushrooms, brushcetta recipe.

B sides haven’t always maintained a good reputation over time. Adjectives used to describe them were not necessarily flattering: non-album friendly, non radio-friendly, the side the DJ played only when most people had  enough liquor not to care what they were hearing…

Mushrooms have an A and B side, with what most of us eat being the A side, white button mushroom found on your average take out pizza.  I don’t mind this A side hit, but I think it’s unfortunate that so many B side mushrooms aren’t getting their fair play. Some are certainly more exotic sounding (shiitake, maitake,), more colorful (Chanterelles), more elegant (oyster, enoki). But much like the music industry, it’s not always true talent that makes the hit list. 

I consider myself a mushroom lover and even took a class in college whose curriculum included mushroom “hunts”, identifying species and spores in the laboratory, and experiencing the pleasure of holding and examining bowling ball size puffballs. I’d been looking for a way to try a different or “B-side” mushroom and I discovered dried Porcinis at a natural foods store where I frequently shop. I’d heard through the “underground” industry they were good: unsigned, raw talent, that made their success through grass roots hard work of recipe to recipe, friend to friend, food blog to food blog, and word of mouth (or shall I say from mouth to mouth?). I snatched up a package, along with a baguette, and went home to try a mushroom bruschetta recipe… (more…)